


Echoing

by KiteTheKid



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Implied Phasma/Rey but not explicitly stated, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiteTheKid/pseuds/KiteTheKid
Summary: Kylo hears a laugh through the thin walls of his apartment and almost instantly falls in love. Meanwhile, the ginger neighbor is sending him death threats with his eyes.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mioka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mioka/gifts).



> This is for Mioka, aka 'Thanisson' on Discord. Thank you for providing the prompt! - and I am sorry this is so crap. Go follow them on Tumblr at ( http://mioka.tumblr.com )

“So how long has that been going on?” Phasma asked, slumping down onto his couch the minute he closed the door to his apartment. 

Hux had hoped she hadn’t noticed that little exchange in the hallway. He should have known that would be hopeless; she was a cop for gods sake. 

“What do you mean?” He hedged, going to the kitchen to pour them both a glass of champagne. He had acquired it from a wine tasting that they had attended last week; they had both enjoyed it. 

Phasma, whose torso was long for the back of the couch, leaned back, her blonde hair falling with gravity as she fixed him with an upside-down look. “Yeah, right. You know what I mean. I know everything about you, Hux; you can’t hide that from me. So - what gives?”

His lips downturned and he fidgeted slightly before bringing the glasses over to the couch, watching as she sat upright and took the glass from his hand. She was still looking at him expectantly. 

“That was just - my neighbor.” 

“Your neighbor,” Phasma repeated, dead-pan. “Your totally hot neighbor who you like - no, Hux, don’t give me that look, I know you too well. Drink your damn champagne.”

She was right - Hux was attracted to his neighbor. But. There was always a ‘but’. He took a sip of his champagne. 

“So, tell me everything,” Phasma prompted. 

He sighed, placing his glass on the coffee table, folding his legs beneath him as he got comfortable. “So, you know that weird thing I do . . . when I like someone?”

She snorted indelicately, leveling him with a knowing look. “You mean the unadulterated hatred you project as a shield when you actually want someone to come closer? Yes, I know that thing.” She herself had gone through such a stage with Hux. 

Hux turned slightly red at the accurate description. “Well, I started doing that, which is why we glaring at each other like that in the hallway. I can’t help it! He’s just so - well, I mean, you saw him!” 

“I cannot believe you, Hux; just the other week you were complaining about not having a love life, and now you are glaring at pretty much the only possible candidate. You know what, I think I need to give you a lesson in ~love~.” 

The way she said it had him laughing loudly, shaking his head even as he was wiping away tears of laughter. “No thank you, Phasma. I’m sure I have not stooped so low yet as to be getting dating advice from you.”

Phasma did not look offended by that at all; in fact, she was rather pleased to have made Hux laugh. She had known him for a good five years, and she knew that he did not have much humor in his life. Really, Hux deserved a lot more than what he had currently. 

“Hey, at least I actually have a girlfriend,” she shot back, taking a long sip of champagne. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, some of us actually have functioning social skills,” Hux griped good-naturedly. 

“Why don’t you just ask him out, then?”

“Oh right, and so how am I supposed to ask this ‘only candidate’, as you have so eloquently labeled him, then? ‘Oh yes, hello neighbor, I know that I’ve been glaring at you ever since we’ve been living here, but would you care to go on a date with me?’”

Phasma grinned, giving a slight shrug as she took another sip off champagne. “Hey, you never know; it might work. Maybe your hot neighbor has the same malfunctioning social skills as you.” 

Hux sighed, picking up his glass of champagne from the coffee table. “No, I don’t think that is a common malfunction,” he said, shaking his head. He took a sip from his glass, draining approximately half. 

She reached and ruffled his hair, breaking him out of his reverie. “Don’t worry, Hux. If you do ask him on a date and he rejects you, at least he can’t hate you any more, right?”

He looked up at her through rumpled locks, a grumpy look on his face. “Thanks, that’s so helpful.”

“Yep.” She finished her glass, then got up and put it in the sink. “I’m going to head home. Congrats on acing that test - and call me when you have a date with hottie mc hot neighbor,” she said, heading towards the door. 

“It’s not going to happen, Phasma!” Hux called just as the door closed behind her. Really, she had always had high expectations of him. 

After she left, he sat in silence, finishing his champagne and contemplating if asking the hot neighbor out was worth the awkwardness. No matter how he looked at it, it would be awkward. 

 

As this was a cheap apartment, Ren had known before he had rented it that the walls were extremely thin. Surprisingly, this fact hadn’t come to bother him much since he had moved in. He only had few close neighbors, and they were relatively very quiet. 

Tonight, however, he could hear both neighbors on either side of him and the one across the hall. It was to be expected though, since it was the weekend. It wasn’t unusual for them to have people over. He was only grateful that he couldn’t hear any sex noises coming from the ginger’s room. He had braced himself for that when he had seen him bring over that blonde woman. 

Mostly, he could only hear a few vague noises, nothing even really distracting. 

That was until, of course, he heard the laugh. It was the most intriguing and lovely laugh he had ever heard. After it was over, the musical sound lingered, and Ren believed that he had just fallen in love. 

Only, he had no idea where the laugh had come from. 

There was also the problem of not knowing any of his neighbors. Of course, he knew the red-head, but that was only because the man took it upon himself to glare at him every time they saw each other in the hall. Ren had no clue what that was about; he didn’t know what he had done to personally offend the man, but it must have been bad going from the nasty sneer he fixed Kylo with every time they made eye contact. 

Really, the ginger was cute - would have been cute, if not for that fact. He had a very nice style; sweater vests and skinny jeans, his hair combed carefully back. 

He shook the thoughts off, only for them to return to the laugh he had heard. It kept replaying in his mind for some reason, and he couldn’t focus on the lines he was trying to memorize. He sighed, giving it up a bad job before finally removing himself from the couch and into bed, the laugh still echoing in his mind. 

 

The next time Kylo sees his ginger neighbor in the hall, he still has the sound of that laugh in the back of his mind. For some reason, it haunts him. He looks at his neighbor critically, only to get a heated glare in return. 

Kylo scoffed at himself. ‘Nah, there is no way that the laugh was him. Hell, he’s probably never laughed in his life!” 

So, with that thought, he dismisses the red-head completely and makes his way back into his apartment. He had forgotten his wallet, and quickly makes his way back out again. 

 

It was weeknight, and Ren got home late. There had been a big shoot today, and he felt drained. He barely got through his nightly routine of dinner and a shower before he was collapsing in bed, exhausted and ready to fall asleep. 

The covers were warm and the night was crisp and cool due to encroaching fall weather. He was just on the cusp of sleep, somewhere in that in-between state of sleep and awareness, when he heard the laugh again. The laugh he had heard on the weekend. He sat up at looked around, trying to process where the noise had come from. 

It had sounded close to the North wall, but he couldn’t be completely sure, as the noise had trailed off and the source was now unidentifiable. At least now Ren could be sure that it was one of his neighbors. 

 

He sees the ginger again in the lobby with the same blonde he had brought home a few nights ago, and - Ren’s heart almost stopped. The man was actually smiling. Honest-to-god smiling. Objectively, Ren had thought that the man was attractive before (even with the sneer on his face), but it was nothing to how angelic he looked when smiling. 

Then, to top things off, the man laughed. The same tinkling and bright laugh that Ren had heard a few nights ago. Of course it would be the neighbor that absolutely hated Ren’s guts for no discernible reason. 

The blonde said something to him, her eyes fixing on Kylo. He stopped laughing, all merriment gone from his face as he turned towards Kylo too, his eyes narrowing. Ren felt like he had been caught doing something very bad, even though he had only been walking through the lobby. Even worse, he felt like he didn’t belong there at that moment. It was not a good feeling. 

 

Hux and Phasma were joking around before they had to part ways for the day, and Hux himself was in a pretty good mood. That was, until - 

“Ooh, look, the hot neighbor guy is here and he’s totally staring at us. Maybe he’s jealous?” 

Hux looked over to where she was pointedly looking, and all of his good humor dripped away. “Jealous? What for?” He asked, voice petulant as he stared at the man through narrowed eyes. 

The man himself looked a bit alarmed at being glared at by them, looking away and quickly exiting the lobby. Hux almost groaned in despair. “He’s never going to like me, Phasma,” he whined. 

Phasma looked slightly amused, but she was not going to take any of his bullshit. “Well, Hux, maybe if you tried not to physically murder him with your eyes, then you would have a better chance. Seriously, I have never seen you look so murderously at a person before. If I didn’t know you, I would honestly be afraid for that poor man’s life right now.”

He looked up at her pleadingly, face set in a hopeless look. “Was it really that bad? What do I doooo?"

“I’ve already told you; just ask him out already.” 

“Alright. Alright, fine. But if I am brutally and emotionally torn apart, then you have to deal with the fall out.”

 

‘This is it. This is how my life ends,’ were the words going through his head when he saw his ginger neighbor headed straight towards him, a murderous look dead-set on his face. It was ridiculous, he knew, to be afraid of this man; he had much more muscle and could probably easily take him in a fight. Fears were irrational, however, and he most certainly was afraid of his neighbor. It honestly wouldn’t surprise him if the guy was a serial killer, and Ren was next on the list. 

Which was why he completely missed the words the guy said to him. Ren blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

The man took a deep breath before repeating, “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

The words did absolutely nothing to relieve his suspicion; in fact, they only increased them. Why would this guy ask him on a date after glaring at him ever since he moved in? It didn’t make sense. 

“Are you going to murder me?” He just needed clarification on that. 

“What? No, I’m not. No matter what people seem to think, I am not a murderer.”

“Oh,” Ren said eloquently, thinking about the request. The ginger was pretty hot, and he had a cute laugh - not to mention that he confirmed that there was going to be no murder, which was a bonus. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll go on a date with you.”

The man went from a scowl to a hopeful expression; the only other expression Ren had seen on him other than the other day in the lobby. “I’ll pay, of course, and I can take you wherever if you have a request. I - um, I’m Hux, by the way.” He said, words coming out in a tumble. He held out his hand for a shake, like this was some kind of business proposal. 

“Kylo Ren,” Ren responded, taking the hand and giving it a firm shake. He noted how soft Hux’s hands were, how small they were in proportion to his own. 

Hux took his hand back, looking contrite. “I’m sorry if I gave off the impression that I wanted to murder you. I just tend to - do that, when I like someone.” 

Ren gave him a quizzical look, but nodded anyway. “So, when is this date?”

“Are you free this weekend?”

“Uhh, I’d have to check my schedule. I work pretty crazy hours, you know.”

“Alright, just - I’ll give you my number. You can text me when you’re free?” 

“Sure,” Ren said, unlocking his phone and handing it to Hux so that he could put the information in. 

Hux entered his contact information then handed Ren’s phone back, giving him a small smile. “So, I guess I’ll talk to you later?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question. 

Ren nodded, giving a small smile as well. “Yeah, I’ll text you.” 

With that, they both left to respective apartments, both of them feeling a bit anxious about what had just happened. Ren because, even with Hux’s reassurances, he couldn’t trust that the man didn’t actually want to kill him. Hux because he couldn’t actually believe that a guy who had thought Hux wanted to murder him would actually say yes to a date. 

 

Never in his life had Hux been so elated when Ren said ‘yes’ to his proposal of a date. Except, of course, the first time Ren texts him. 

‘Hey, this is Ren. I’m free on Saturday if you would like to go out.’

Hux actually had to physically control his need to express his glee. 

At that particular moment, Hux was in a small restaurant with Phasma getting lunch. She took one look at his face and her eyebrows rose up her forehead. “What the hell, Hux? Tell me what you’re so happy about; your expression is scaring the shit out of me.”

“So,” Hux began, a wide grin stretching across his lips as he began conspiratorially. “I asked my hot neighbor on a date.”

Understanding spread across her face, and soon she was grinning as well. “Oooh, so? What are you planning?”

“For our date? Well, he just texted me that he’s free on Saturday, and the weather is supposed to be nice this weekend . . . so, I was thinking about a picnic?”

Phasma stared at him for a moment in disbelief. “A picnic? You? Picnic?” 

“Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Because a picnic sounds so innocent, and trust me, Hux; you are not innocent.”

“I am going on a picnic with him, Phasma,” Hux said forcefully, his mouth set stubbornly. 

The waiter took that exact moment to interrupt, and they moved on to other topics. 

Hux texted back: ‘Saturday is great! How do you feel about picnics?’

 

On Saturday, just as they met up in the hallway of their apartments, it began raining. 

It might not have been so bad if it was just a light sprinkle that cleared up in an hour or so. This, however; this was a torrential downpour. It was so vicious that the lights flickered, then blinked out. They were left standing in the completely dark hallway of their apartment complex. 

Hux felt completely devastated. His plan had gone completely wrong, and now Ren probably wouldn’t want to continue the date. Perhaps he should just take this as a sign that they were not meant to be together and simply give up.

He was about to turn around and mope in his empty apartment when he felt a hand on his arm. 

“Sorry, is this alright? I can barely see anything. Do you want to come back to mine? I have some candles somewhere, and we could eat lunch there.”

Oh. Okay, so maybe this whole date thing was not completely ruined. 

“Yes, thank you,” Hux said gratefully, following Ren by touch as he led them back to his apartment door. He fumbled with his keys for a moment before opening the door, leading Hux carefully through his apartment until they got to the couch. 

Hux placed the picnic basket on the coffee table and sat down, grateful that he could partially see again thanks to the window in Ren’s living room. The roar of the rain outside was almost deafening in the newfound silence that was usually taken up by the hum of electronics. 

Ren’s apartment had the same concept as his, but it was decorated differently. It had a very minimalistic style, the colors mostly black and white with highlights of green. It was very clean and tidy. With the rain coming down outside, it gave off a very otherworldly feel. 

At the moment, Kylo was rummaging through his drawers, finding his emergency candles and lighter for such occasions. Finally when he found them, he placed them all around the table and apartment, lighting them as he went. They gave off a very soft glow. 

When he was done with his task, he moved to sit by Hux on the couch, who had taken the initiative to open the picnic basket and start arranging the items on the table. Mostly, it was items to make a sandwich, vegetables with ranch, and sliced fruit. 

“So, where do you work?” Hux asked, breaking the companionable silence as he set about making his sandwich. 

“It depends. I’m an actor, so I go from place to place on shoots,” Ren answered, following Hux’s lead. 

“You’re an actor? What kind of movies are you in?” 

“Well, currently I’m in a TV show for HBO. It’s a modern romance chick-flick type of thing. You probably wouldn’t enjoy it.”

Unsurprisingly, Kylo was right. Hux was not much into ‘chick-flicks’. In fact, he wasn’t much into any type of film at all. Except for perhaps science fiction. “Probably,” he concluded. 

“So, what do you do?” 

Hux, who had just taken his first bite of his sandwich, swallowed before answering. “I am in school to become a lawyer. I only have a few months left and I will be graduating. I plan to take over my father’s firm and reform it to my own standards.”

“Wow, that’s really ambitious.”

“That’s one thing to call it.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they continued eating, the rain a soothing backdrop to the lack of conversation. 

The lights flickered back on just as they were cleaning up, putting things back into the refrigerator and cupboards. One thing had been bothering Hux, and he was working up the nerve to ask. 

“So, Ren . . . “ he began, washing the dishes in the sink. 

“Call me Kylo,” Ren corrected. 

“Kylo, then. Why did you say ‘yes’ to this date? I mean, you thought I hated you before.”

Kylo thought about it, deciding to tell the truth. “Well, honestly . . . that night, when you brought the blonde woman over,”

“Phasma,” Hux interjected. 

“Phasma,” Kylo agreed. “I heard a laugh through the walls. It was the most beautiful, lovely laugh I had ever heard. I was convinced that I had fallen in love.” He gave Hux a look before continuing. “Still am, actually. A few nights later, I hear the same laugh. Still as lovely and wonderful as the first time I had heard it. The problem was still the same, though; I had no idea where it was coming from.”

Hux had no idea where this was going. What did this story have to do with him?

“Well, one morning, I came down, and you were standing there with your friend - with Phasma - and you were smiling. You look lovely when you smile, by the way. But that’s when the most amazing thing happened.” Kylo was staring at him, his eyes intense. 

Hux felt a bit strange, not knowing what Kylo was trying to say. He did appreciate the compliment on his smile very much, though, and it showed in the heat in his cheeks. 

“You laughed.”

“Oh.” So that’s what Kylo was trying to say. 

He looked away, rinsing his hands in the sink and drying them with a towel. Perhaps for the first time, Armitage Hux was completely unsure of what to say. He settled on, “Thank you.”

Kylo was still looking at him, face calculating. “Can I kiss you, Hux?”

Well, really, this was a win-win situation. He gave a small nod, both of them stepping closer to each other. Hux looked up slightly, turning his head a bit so that their lips slotted together almost effortlessly. Ren’s lips were large and soft, the shape perfect for licking, kissing, sucking. But this was only the first date, and Hux was not easy nor sleazy. 

He pulled away, only to be tempted again by those kiss-swollen lips. Kylo looked similarly tempted. They kissed again, only because they could not resist each other like this. Kylo pushed him backwards, until he was leaning against the counter. His hands were large and steady on Hux’s hips, radiating heat even through the material of his pants. Hux’s hands were on Kylo’s shoulders, his fingers spread to admire the thick muscle there. 

Just as it was getting harder and harder to resist the pull of attraction, Hux pressed Kylo back, breaking contact. “I should go,” he said as he stepped away completely, beginning to gather his things. “This has been really lovely - call me later?” 

Ren looked as if he had just been in a train wreck. His eyes were dilated and wild, his mouth completely swollen. He looked mildly hurt, like he wasn’t expecting to be cut off so quickly from Hux’s contact. It took so much of Hux’s self-restraint to keep himself from being drawn in again. 

“Yes, I’ll call you,” Kylo said, voice deeper than usual. 

Hux nodded before departing. 

 

“I did it! I made an ‘A’!” Hux called, letting himself into Kylo’s apartment with the key that had been made for him. 

Kylo had been sitting at the bar, legs propped up on a second chair as he practiced his lines. He looked up with a smile at Hux’s pronouncement, placing his script on the bar as he unfolded himself from his position so that he could stand and hug Hux. 

Hux went willingly into Kylo’s arms, his excitement and happiness getting the best of him. 

“I’m proud of you, pumpkin,” Kylo muttered into ginger hair. 

Caught up in his elation, he didn’t even say anything against being called ‘pumpkin’ like he usually does. “Once I take over my father’s firm we can finally move out of these shitty apartments.”

“I found you because of these ‘shitty apartments’; give them some credit.” 

“Yes, yes, alright,” Hux said, pulling away partially from the embrace. He paused a moment, his face getting a devious look on it. “So . . . how should we celebrate?”


End file.
